Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542822
CONTINUES PAGE 4 YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 25 JANUARY 2026 • ISSUE 1369 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Political revolution maltatoday Nightclub safety Scabies surge KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Figures show scabies cases surged in 2023 €2.20 PAGE 13 PAGE 7 Momentum Chairperson Arnold Cassola on trying to bring about change No time for complacency on safety, Philip Fenech warns INTERVIEW MT2 BERNARD Grech has ac- cused Robert Abela of lying about private talks the two had in 2024 over the appoint- ment of a new president. The former Nationalist leader was reacting to a com- ment the prime minister made during an exchange with the MaltaToday news- room last week. Abela was asked about his relations with current PN leader Alex Borg and his pre- decessors—Grech and Adri- an Delia. Abela had said that he had a good relationship with Grech but went on to describe what he called "the only sour epi- sode" linked to the appoint- ment of a new president. The confidential talks took place in 2024. Bernard Grech accuses Abela of lying over private talks JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt PL 48.9% 45.7% PN PL retains three-point lead despite Abela trust drop VOTING INTENTIONS ADPD 2.3% Momentum 2.3% Others 0.8% Turnout 81.1% TRUST Robert Abela 41.3% Alex Borg 35.9% None 22.8% GOV PERFORMANCE 3.2 out of 5 THE first MaltaToday survey of the year shows the Labour Party retaining a three-point lead over the Nationalist Party, a picture that has remained relatively stable since October. The PL en- joys the sup- port of 48.9% of voters, the PN 45.7% and third parties c o l l e c t i v e l y 5.4%. The gap between the two major parties translates into 9,262 votes. However, the survey carried out in the first two weeks of January, also registers a drop in Prime Minister Robert Abela's trust rat- ing, from 45.2% to 41.3%. PN lead- er Alex Borg's trust rating stands at 35.9%, a marginal increase of 0.6 points. The rise in respondents who trust neither leader may part- ly reflect political disengagement during the festive period. The January survey also con- firms that Labour is losing a larger share of its 2022 voters to absten- tion than the PN. While 13.9% of those who voted Labour in 2022 now say they intend not to vote, only 3.9% of former PN voters express the same intention. Al- though the survey points to a modest shift of voters from the PL to the PN, Labour's prospects of recovering its past level of support hinge primarily on reconnecting with former PL voters who now intend to abstain. SEE FULL RESULTS ON PAGES 9 TO 12